MARGAO
As the factional feud within the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) shows no signs of abating — with the epicentre of the battle centred around St Andre and the north of the Zuari river — questions are increasingly being raised over how the internal turmoil will impact the party’s workers, supporters and well-wishers in Salcete taluka, where the regional outfit made an impressive electoral debut in the 2022 Assembly polls.
So far, the simmering conflict has not visibly spilled over into Salcete, though party functionaries and leaders from the taluka are believed to be aligned with either of the two camps led by party supremo Manoj Parab and MLA Viresh Borkar.
The timing of the feud has assumed significance, coming barely months ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. With political circles rife with speculation that the polls could be advanced to December 2026, observers are closely watching whether the growing divide within the party could dent its electoral prospects at a crucial juncture.
2022 breakthrough performance
The RGP emerged as one of the surprise performers in the 2022 Assembly elections, particularly in Salcete, traditionally regarded as a Congress bastion. Though the party failed to win a seat in the minority-dominated taluka, it nevertheless succeeded in carving out a significant political space for itself, leaving political observers and poll pundits stunned by the extent of its inroads.
The regional outfit polled four-digit votes in almost all eight Assembly constituencies in Salcete, barring Margao, signalling the emergence of an alternative political force capable of challenging established parties in the region.
Political analysts say the gains made by the RGP in 2022 were driven largely by support from the NRI community, particularly Goans settled in the United Kingdom, besides grassroots mobilisation and a growing sentiment for regional assertion.
Strong Salcete numbers
A closer look at the 2022 election statistics underlines the party’s growing footprint in Salcete. The RGP secured over 3,000-odd votes each in the key constituencies of Nuvem, Curtorim, Benaulim and Velim — all traditionally considered Congress strongholds. Except for Nuvem, the Congress went on to lose the remaining three constituencies, with the Aam Aadmi Party opening its account in both Benaulim and Velim.
In all, the RGP polled more than 20,000 votes across the eight Assembly constituencies in Salcete in 2022 — 20,883 votes, to be precise — an impressive tally for a nascent regional outfit attempting to establish itself in a politically sensitive taluka.
It is another matter that the party could not sustain its momentum in Salcete during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, though political observers point out that parliamentary elections are an entirely different ball game compared to Assembly contests, where local factors and candidate "connect" often play a decisive role.
Infighting clouds prospects
Political observers, however, caution that prolonged infighting could erode the RGP’s credibility and weaken its organisational structure ahead of the next electoral battle.
“The RGP’s strength lay in presenting itself as a united regional alternative. Internal divisions at this stage could confuse party workers, supporters and well-wishers, besides affecting the morale of the cadre at the grassroots,” observed a political commentator.
Whether the party leadership succeeds in containing the feud and rebuilding organisational unity before the election season gathers momentum could well determine whether the RGP can retain — or even expand — the political space it managed to create in Salcete in 2022.
